An article of headgear

Abstract: An article of protective headgear has a coating of a reflective material. The article includes an impact resistant shell 14 of a substantially transparent material. A layer 20 of a light dispersing material 22 is applied to an inner surface 19 of the shell 14. A layer 24 of reflective material 26 is applied to the layer 20 of light dispersing material 22. The invention extends to a method of manufacturing an article of protective headgear.

Description: THIS INVENTION relates to an article of headgear. More particularly, the invention relates to an article of protective headgear and to a method of manufacturing an article of protective headgear. It is known to provide safety helmets having a reflective coating arranged on an outer surface of a protective shell. US-A-3885246 discloses a protective helmet having a reflective layer over an outer surface of a protective shell of the helmet. A transparent sheet is located over the reflective coating to protect the reflective layer. US-A-4993082 discloses a helmet having a moulded cover shell for decorating and protecting the exterior surface of a helmet body. A thin clear plastic sheet of material is moulded in the shape of the upper exterior portion of the helmet body and painted or colaminated on the interior surface of the cover prior to fitting of the cover to the helmet's body. It is an object of this invention to use the strength of a shell of a helmet to protect a reflective layer arranged on the helmet. It is also an object of this invention to provide a method of manufacturing a reflective helmet which is simple and cost-effective. According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an article of protective headgear, the method including the steps of: providing an impact-resistant shell, applying a layer of light-dispersing material to the shell and applying a layer of reflective material to the shell, the method being characterised in that : the shell is of a substantially transparent material; the layer of light-dispersing material is applied to an inner surface of the shell; and the layer of reflective material is applied to the layer of light-dispersing material. The method may include the further step of applying a layer of sealing material to the layer of reflective material to inhibit damage to the reflective material. The method may further include forming the light dispersing material by dispersing glass beads in a resin. The resin may be a waterless resin. A solvent, a flow agent and acrylic beads may be mixed together to form the resin, so that the resin is in a sprayable form. A suspension agent may be added to the resin to suspend the glass beads within the resin so that, on application, the glass beads are substantially evenly dispersed in the layer of light dispersing material. The reflective material may be dissolved in a suitable solvent to form a liquid solution of the reflective material. The method may include the step of dissolving a reflective metal in said suitable solvent. The light dispersing material may be sprayed onto said shell. The solution of reflective material may be sprayed onto the layer of light dispersing material. The resin may be sprayed onto the layer of reflective material to form the layer of sealing material. The method may include the step of adding a colourant to the layer of light dispersing material. The layers of light dispersing material, reflective material and sealing material may be applied to substantially the entire inner surface of the shell. According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an article of protective headgear having an impact-resistant shell, a layer of light-dispersing material applied to the shell and a layer of reflective material applied to the layer of the light-dispersing material, characterized in that : the impact-resistant shell is of a substantially transparent material; and the layer of the light-dispersing material is applied to an inner surface of the shell. It is further to be appreciated that the article of protective headgear will usually be in the form of a helmet, more particularly, a safety helmet. It is to be understood that a safety helmet comprises a protective shell and a support structure or harness to support the shell on a user's head. The article may further include a layer of a sealing material applied to the layer of reflective material to inhibit damage to the layer of reflective material. The layer of light dispersing material may comprise glass beads dispersed in the resin. The sealing material may also be in the form of a resin. In both cases, the resin may be a waterless resin. The reflective material may include a reflective metal carried in a solvent. The reflective metal may be aluminium. Substantially the entire inner surface of the shell may have the coating of reflective material. It is to be appreciated that a large number of users of protective headgear utilize the headgear at night or under other conditions of low visibility, for example in underground mines. A disadvantage of reflective elements which are affixed to apparel, and which are presently utilised, is that, when they are affixed to clothing, such reflective elements are easily obscured by other articles of clothing which a user may wear over the affixed reflective elements. A further disadvantage is that these reflective elements are easily damaged, dirtied or ripped off in strenuous or adverse working conditions such as those which might occur in an underground mine. The Applicant believes that these disadvantages will be overcome by utilising the article of protective headgear in accordance with the invention. The invention is now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows a side view of an article of headgear in accordance with the invention; and Figure 2 shows a sectioned view of part of the article of headgear. In Figure 1, reference numeral 10 generally indicates an article of protective headgear in accordance with the invention. The article of protective headgear 10 is in the form of a safety helmet 12. The safety helmet 12 comprises a protective shell 14 and a harness (not shown) to support the shell 14 on a user's head. The entire shell 14 of the safety helmet 12 is impregnated with a reflective material. It is to be appreciated that the shell 14 of the safety helmet 12 is moulded from a plastics material 16. The reflective material is in the form of a reflective pigment. The reflective pigment is incorporated into the plastics material 16 of the shell 14 prior to moulding the plastics material 16. In a development of the invention, the shell 14 of the safety helmet 12 is coated with a reflective material 18 on substantially an entire inner surface 19 of the shell 14. The plastics material 16 is in the form of a polycarbonate, and is substantially transparent. The helmet 12 includes a layer 20 of light dispersing material 22 applied to said inner surface 19 of the shell 14. A layer 24 of the reflective material 18 is applied to the layer 20. The reflective material 18 is in the form of aluminium 26. A layer 28 of a sealing material in the form of a waterless resin 30 is applied to the layer 24 of aluminium 26 to inhibit damage to the layer 24. The light dispersing material 22 comprises glass beads 32 dispersed in a resin 30, which is also a waterless resin. In use, to manufacture the resin 30, a solvent, a flow agent, acrylic beads and a suspension agent are mixed together. Since the resin 30 is waterless, separation of the beads 32 from the hardened resin 30, which would result in cracking of the layer 20, is inhibited. Similarly, separation of the layer 28 from the layer 24 is inhibited. Since the resin 30 includes a suspension agent, the beads are suspended in the resin 30 so that, on application, the beads 32 are substantially evenly dispersed in the layer 20. Further, in use, the layers 20, 24, 28 are sprayed onto the inner surface of the shell 14. Hence, the resin 30 is such that, prior to hardening, it has a sufficiently low viscosity to permit spraying of the resin 30. Still further, the aluminium 26 is carried in a solvent, the combination of aluminium 26 and the solvent being of a suitably low viscosity, so that they are capable of being sprayed onto the layer 20 to form the layer 24. If desired, a colourant is introduced into the light dispersing material 22 prior to the material 22 being sprayed to form the layer 20, so that the helmet 12 appears to be of a desired colour. Instead, the colourant can be added to the plastic material of the shell 14, prior to injection moulding of the shell 14. The Applicant believes that the article of protective headgear 10 will be particularly useful in conditions of low visibility, for example, in underground mines. A disadvantage of reflective elements which are affixed to apparel, and which are presently utilised, is that, when they are affixed to clothing, they are easily obscured by other articles of clothing which a user may wear over the affixed reflective elements. A further disadvantage is that these reflective elements are easily damaged or ripped off in strenuous or adverse working conditions such as those which might occur in an underground mine. Since the shell 14 is coated, as described, with the reflective material 18, the Applicant believes that the reflectivity of the safety helmet 12 will be substantially maintained in the working conditions described above and hence the disadvantages set out above will, to a large extent, be overcome.

Claims: A method of manufacturing an article of protective headgear (10), the method including the steps of: providing an impact-resistant shell; applying a layer (20) of a light-dispersing material (22) to the shell; and applying a layer (24) of reflective material (26) to the shell; characterized in that :- the shell (14) is of a substantially transparent material; the layer (20) of light-dispersing material (22) is applied to an inner surface (19) of the shell (14); and the layer (24) of reflective material (26) is applied to the layer (20) of light-dispersing material (22). The method as claimed in claim 1 which includes the step of applying a layer (28) of sealing material (30) to the layer (24) of reflective material (26) to inhibit damage to the reflective material (26). The method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 which includes forming the light-dispersing material (22) by dispersing glass beads (32) in a resin (30), preferably a waterless resin. The method as claimed in claim 3, which includes the step of mixing a solvent, a flow agent and acrylic beads together to form the resin (30), so that the resin (30) is in a sprayable form. The method as claimed in claim 4, which includes adding a suspension agent to the resin (30) to suspend the glass beads (32) within the resin (30) so that, on application, the glass beads (32) are substantially evenly dispersed in the layer (20) of light-dispersing material. The method as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5, which includes dissolving the reflective material (18) in a suitable solvent to form a liquid solution of the reflective material (18). The method as claimed in claim 6, which includes the step of dissolving a reflective metal in said solvent. The method as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, which includes the step of spraying the light-dispersing material (22) onto said shell (14), and optionally spraying the solution of reflective material (18) onto the layer (20) of light dispersing material (22). The method as claimed in claim 8 which includes the step of spraying the resin (30) onto the layer (24) of reflective material (18) to form the layer (28) of sealing material (30). The method as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9, inclusive, which includes applying the layers of light-dispersing material (22), reflective material (18) and sealing material (30) to substantially the entire inner surface (19) of the shell (14). The method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, which includes adding a colourant to the layer (20) of light-dispersing material (22). An article of protective headgear having an impact resistant shell (14), a layer (20) of a light-dispersing material (22) applied to the shell (14), and a layer (24) of reflective material (18) applied to the layer (20) of the light-dispersing material (22), characterized in that : the impact resistant shell (14) is of a substantially transparent material (16); and the layer (20) of the light dispersing material (22) is applied to an inner surface (19) of the shell (14). The article as claimed in claim 12 which includes a layer (28) of a sealing material (30) applied to the layer (20) of reflective material (18) to inhibit damage to the layer (20) of reflective material (18). The article as claimed in claim 13 in which the layer (20) of light-dispersing material (22) comprises glass beads (32) dispersed in a resin (30). The article as claimed in claim 14 in which the sealing material (30) is also a resin. The article as claimed in claim 14 or 15, wherein the resin (30) is a waterless resin. The article as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 16, in which the reflective material (18) includes a reflective metal, preferably aluminium, carried in a solvent. The article as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 17, inclusive, in which substantially the entire inner surface (19) of the shell (14) has the coating of reflective material (18).

Inventors: ETHERINGTON ALFRED, ETHERINGTON, ALFRED
Applicants: ETHERINGTON ALFRED, ETHERINGTON, ALFRED
Application year: 1994
Main classification: A42B3
IPC codes: A42B3